veg dum biryanirestaurant style recipe with step by step photos – biryani is my most favorite rice based dish. if i have to have biryani everyday, i won’t mind it at all.

this restaurant style veg biryani recipe was first posted three years back. that time, i always would make the hyderabadi veg dum biryani or my mom’s version of the dum biryani at home. i had never experimented or tried any other version of vegetable dum biryani. i came across this biryani recipe in nita mehta’s cookbook – taste of amritsar vegetarian. i gave it a try and adapted the recipe to suit our taste buds. what i liked in the recipe was the use of freshly ground biryani masala.

also, there were no tomatoes, chilies or turmeric in this version. three ingredients which always go in my cooking. i was like, biryani without tomatoes & chilies & turmeric. how it would be??? and i was wrong. the vegetable biryani proved me wrong.

one of the best biryanis i have had and was truly restaurant style. the veg gravy was not wet, like is the case with homemade biryanis, but a bit dry as we get in the restaurants. the biryani is not at all spicy but has a subtle hint of sweetness in it.

the flavors of the freshly ground spices as well as the caramelized/browned onions are a hallmark in this biryani and brings out the best in the whole dish. yes, birista or fried browned onions is used in this recipe.

by now i have made this biryani many times. i have made the recipe, both with dairy yogurt and cashew yogurt. when made with cashew yogurt, no one, including me, could make out the difference that it was made in cashew yogurt.

this biryani recipe is awesome and i had to share it with all of you. i served the veg biryani with onion tomato raita.

a long process of making the dum veg biryani but worth it. the ingredients are simple and easily available in the kitchen apart from mint leaves and saffron. so do have some mint leaves before hand. for saffron substitute, you can add a pinch of turmeric in some milk or water and then add it on the rice layers.

i cannot imagine my food without green chilies or red chili powder. so i had to add red chili powder in the biryani. so for this diwali, why not make this biryani and impress your family, friends and guests.

i will be making this restaurant style veg dum biryani on diwali again. it has become a favorite dish at home.

if using a pan, then cover the pan with a moist muslin cloth or aluminum foil. cover tightly with a lid.

you can bake the veg biryani for 25 to 30 minutes in a preheated oven at 180 degree celsius.

if cooking on stove, then first heat up a tava/griddle and then keep the biryani pan on the tava. this way the bottom of the veg biryani won't get burnt.

lower the flame and let the veg biryani dum cook for 25-30 minutes or till done.

serve veg biryani hot with some raita, pickle, salad and papad.

how to make dum veg biryani recipe:

1. rinse 1.5 cups (200 grams) basmati rice very well in water. soak the rice in enough water for 30 minutes. when the rice is soaking, chop all the veggies and keep aside.

2. prepare the biryani masala. these are the spices that we will be using for the freshly ground biryani masala – 1 inch cinnamon stick, 4 cloves, 4 green cardamoms and a single blade of mace/javitri (not the whole mace. mace is a strong spice).

3. add these in a small grinder or spice grinder and grind to a powder. keep aside.

15. pressure cook for 1 whistle on a medium flame. if cooking in a pot, then cook till the veggies are done. don’t over cook the veggies. when the pressure settles down on its own, remove the lid and check the gravy. if the veggies are not cooked well, then keep the cooker on the stove top and simmer the gravy without the lid, till the veggies are cooked. if there is too much of water or stock in the gravy, then simmer till some water dries up. the gravy should have a medium or slightly thick consistency and should not be very watery.

16. in a small bowl take 2 tbsp warm milk. add a few saffron strands and mix well. keep aside for 10 to 15 minutes.

17. the gravy is ready and done. in another thick bottomed pan, add half of the vegetable gravy.

18. layer with half of the rice.

19. sprinkle half of the fried onions along with chopped mint leaves. also add half of the saffron dissolved milk. top with 1 tbsp oil or butter or ghee on this layer.

20. layer with the rest of the vegetable gravy.

21. lastly add the remainder of the fried onions, mint leaves and the saffron milk. top with 1 tbsp oil or butter or ghee on this layer.

22. cover the pan with a moist muslin or cotton napkin. you can also seal and secure the pan with aluminium foil.

23. place the lid on top.

24. now place the biryani pan on a hot tawa or griddle. the tawa should be heated for 4 to 5 minutes on a low to medium flame before you place the pan on it. dum cook the biryani for 25 to 3o minutes on a low flame. allow a standing time of 5 to 7 minutes after you switch off the flame.

baking – bake the veg biryani at 180 degrees celsius in a preheated oven for 20-25 minutes. please remember to use an oven proof glass utensil like the pyrex bowl for baking in the oven. you will have to assemble the biryani as mentioned above in the oven proof utensil. cover with aluminium foil or the pyrex bowl’s lid and then bake.

here I have made a small change while giving dum. instead of using griddle I simply placed the dum closed bowl in a pressure cooker with some water at the Base and steamed it for some time with out putting the weight.

Hi…. Lovely recipe…. I did it for first time n it was toooo good!!! It’s on demand among my family members…!! I too enjoy doing it again n again as I m finishing faster n with better taste every next time… I am happy for restaurant taste. THANK YOU !!

I’ve made veg biryani with different recipes but I was very happy with your recipe.It turned out excellent n now no more tryouts with other recipes.My family loved it n it made my day. Once again thx a lot.

microwave is only good for reheating and cooking food in the microwave. baking ke liye OTG is best. microwave with convection mode main baking hota hain, but still i would suggest OTG or regular oven for baking cakes, cookies etc and not a microwave. aise bhi kahte hain ke microwave main khana pakana hanikarak hota hain.

I usually make biryani in pressure cooker with all the stuff mixed.. Somewhat near to ‘tahri’… Traditionally made in bihar. I just wanted to try something different an I tried your recipe.. And I was amazed!! Despite the fact that many ingredients were missing at my end, still it turned out to be very delicious… I love the aroma and the taste an so did my hubby I added a little pepper too in the veg layer Thanks a lot for all your recipes.. I am a regular follower of your site….

Amazing how this biryani turned out. Hubby said it tasted better than restaurant stuff. Your recipes are truly marvellous. Have tried a lot of them and they have never failed me. Thank you for sharing these lovely recipes.

I’m a teenager nd I’m vry fond of cooking…whenever I plan to cook something I check on dis website itself.. d way u describe d method of cooking nd d pictures r simply awesome!! I’ve made many dishes from your blog nd all of dem turned out well nd all my family members n frnds Jst luvd dem!! Gonna try dis biryani in a couple of days..Thank so so much for dis blog…it helps me a lot!! dis is d first tym I’m Trying a rice item…I hope it comes out well

A WOW dish from a WOW chef ! ! ! It came out just like how I have tasted at restaurants Dassana. You’re recipes are unbelievably remarkable and the way they turn out can turn heads around. That’s what happened to all who tasted when I made it. No one, not even my wife believed that I made it. Many many thanks to you as always and heartfelt congratulations and respect to your talent. This dum biryani really had 5 Star DUM ! ! !

sweet heart…where are the pics ??? next time when you cook this dish at home please click pics and post them…they are so lovely that I start relishing the food from the pics itself… 😀 😀 😀 Lovely recipe and BTW I cooked it today for guests and it was a super duper hit…I had to lick the vessel… 😀 😀 Thank you tons and tons 🙂 🙂

welcome priya. thanks for this sweet feedback. all the recipes don’t have step by step photos. i am adding step by step photos in recipes where they are not added so it will take time. in many recipes, the positive comments like yours make people try 🙂

Hi, I tried this recipe and it came out very well! Thank you. Your ingredient measurements are perfect. Your suggestions to add yogurt and water were perfect to maintain the correct consistency in biryani and it didn’t get dry or burn. I didn’t have cauliflower so I added capsicum. It turned out to be delicious. Thanks! I’m a big fan of all your recipes

I had tried few of your receipes n all turned very well n would like to try the dum biryani n others dishes as well. But the problem is we don’t eat onion n garlic and your dishes r so tempting that I don’t know if I avoid them how they taste. So could u pls tell me the best substitute for them? And also about the pot is it ok in steel vessel with copper bottom or any other which will not burn the food n comes best at the taste. Your reply would be much appreciated

not adding onions and garlic does make a difference. what i do when cooking without onion and garlic is that i add asafoetida/hing which replaces the flavors of onion-garlic well. also i add whole garam masala like cinnamon, cloves and cardamoms. sometimes even adding ginger powder gives a good taste. you can make the biryani without onion garlic, but the taste will be different in the biryani, as the browned onions give a lot of flavor and taste. i have made a no onion no garlic biryani and i know how the taste it. here is a kashmiri biryani made sans onion and garlic and cooked on dum – https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/kashmiri-biryani-vegetarian-biryani/

you can use a copper base pot. keeping directly on the flame can burn. so heat a tava and lower the flame. then keep the pot on the heated tava and let the biryani cook in the pot. this way there are less chances of the biryani becoming dry or getting burnt.

i am not sure at which stage you added the vegetables. even, if you have added them, after adding the yogurt or even after adding the water, then too the gravy should not get spoilt. you also have not mentioned what you meant by dish getting spoilt. did the yogurt curdle or did the vegetables got overcooked. when you write such comments, it is better if you are specific as to what went wrong.

hey dassana..i tried the whole platter yesterday and it was super yumm..thanks for sharing the versatile combinations..wish i had the nita mehta book..and thanks for trying garlic naan..waiting for the recipe..lots of luv..